assault

assault — noun

1. a sudden, forceful attack — usually by soldiers on a place they want to capture,

1.nounC2
Definition

a sudden, forceful attack — usually by soldiers on a place they want to capture, or by one group fighting another with weapons or fists.

Example

Allied troops launched a dawn assault on the German bunker at Pointe du Hoc.

launch + an assault on + [target]

The rebels prepared for a final assault on the presidential palace.

assault on + [building/target]

Common collocations
  • launch an assault
  • mount an assault
  • armed assault
  • full-scale assault
  • ground assault
Synonyms
  • attack

    more general; 'attack' can be planned or sudden, while 'assault' suggests force and aggression

  • offensive

    a larger military campaign rather than one violent action

  • raid

    a quick attack to grab something or cause damage, then leave

Antonyms
  • defence

    the opposite role — protecting against the attack

  • retreat

    moving away from rather than toward the enemy

Grammar Patterns

assault on/upon + noun

Usage Note

Frequently followed by 'on' or 'upon' plus a person, place, or building. The military reading often pairs with verbs like 'launch', 'mount', or 'lead'.

Common Mistakes

The army made an assault to the city.
The army made an assault on the city.
use 'on' (or 'upon'), not 'to', after 'assault'.

2. a serious, focused try at reaching a hard goal — for example, climbing a high mo

2.noun
Definition

a serious, focused try at reaching a hard goal — for example, climbing a high mountain, breaking a sports record, or winning a top prize.

Example

The team began their assault on Everest from the south side in early May.

assault on + [mountain]

Zane is making a serious assault on the world hundred-metre record this season.

make + an assault on + [record]

Common collocations
  • assault on the summit
  • assault on the record
  • assault on the title
  • fresh assault
Synonyms
  • attempt

    neutral and very common; 'assault' adds drama and a sense of struggle

  • bid

    shorter and often used in news writing; 'a bid for the title'

  • push

    informal; suggests one final hard effort

Grammar Patterns

assault on + noun

Usage Note

Almost always followed by 'on' plus the difficult goal — a peak, a record, a title, or a leadership position. Unlike sense 1, no real fighting is involved; the word borrows the energy of attack to describe ambitious effort.

Common Mistakes

She made an assault for the world record.
She made an assault on the world record.
the goal follows 'on', not 'for'.

3. the crime of hurting someone with your body, or threatening to hurt them in a wa

3.noun
Definition

the crime of hurting someone with your body, or threatening to hurt them in a way that makes the person fear immediate harm — for example, raising a fist or grabbing a stranger by the collar.

Example

Hadiya was charged with assault after the fight outside the bar on Saturday night.

charged with + assault

Ana reported the assault to the police the following morning.

report + the assault

Common collocations
  • charged with assault
  • common assault
  • indecent assault
  • aggravated assault
  • victim of assault
Synonyms
  • battery

    in legal English, 'battery' specifically requires unwanted physical contact; 'assault' can be just the threat

  • mugging

    a street attack where the goal is to steal from the victim

Grammar Patterns

assault on + person

charged with assault

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this is the legal label for the act, especially in court reports and police statements. In US and UK law, an 'assault' can be only a credible threat, while 'battery' requires actual physical contact. The crime sense is often uncountable ('charged with assault'); a single attack on one person is countable ('an assault on a child').

Common Mistakes

The man was arrested for an assault.
The man was arrested for assault.
when naming the type of crime, drop 'an'.
He committed an assault to the cashier.
He committed an assault on the cashier.
the victim follows 'on', not 'to'.

assault — verb

Word family

  • assailant
    nounC2
  • assail
    verbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe acts of violence, but they differ in scale, suddenness, and tone. 'Attack' is the everyday word and the most general — anyone can attack anyone, with words or weapons. 'Assault' is heavier and more formal: it carries the smell of force, often physical contact, and is the term that police reports and news headlines reach for. A 'raid' is fast and narrow — a small group rushes in, takes something or destroys something, and leaves; police raids and bombing raids both fit. An 'offensive' is the biggest of the four — a planned, sustained military campaign over weeks or months. So a single squad might launch an assault during a wider spring offensive, and the night before, helicopters might carry out a raid on the supply depot.

attack ↗assault ↗raid ↗offensive ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • assault rifle
  • assault course
  • assault weapon
  • sexual assault
  • common assault
  • aggravated assault

Adverbs

Phrases

  • under assault
  • come under assault
  • launch an assault
  • victim of assault

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinVulgar LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word reached English in the late 1200s through Old French 'asaut', which came from Vulgar Latin 'assaltus' — built from the Latin prefix 'ad-' ('toward') and 'saltus' ('a leap'). The original picture is therefore a sudden leap or jump at someone, which fits both the military 'rush at the walls' meaning and the personal 'spring at a victim' meaning. The verb appeared a little later, in the 1400s, formed from the noun. The legal use, drawing a line between threatening someone and actually hitting them, grew up in English common law from the 1500s onward.